EXPLORE ABERDEEN

Accounts Commission hearing adjourned

15/05/08

The Accounts Commission for Scotland’s two-day hearing at Aberdeen City Council was adjourned yesterday.

The Accounts Commission panel will now consider the information they have heard over the two-day period (Tues 13 and Weds 14 May) and the additional information submitted to the Commission by the council, employees, members of the public and external organisations. They may choose to reconvene the hearing to hear further evidence if required.

The hearing heard evidence on Tuesday from Audit Scotland, Aberdeen City Council leader Councillor Kate Dean, deputy leader Councillor Kevin Stewart, chief executive Douglas Paterson and other senior council officials.

Also giving evidence on Tuesday were City Council Labour group leader Councillor Len Ironside, Conservative Group leader Councillor Alan Milne, and representatives from the Unison, GMB, Educational Institute of Scotland, Amicus and T&G trade unions.

Yesterday evidence was presented to the Commission by Aberdeen Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Cyrenians homelessness charity and Aberdeen Trades Council. Aberdeen City Council was also given the opportunity to present further evidence and challenge some serious factual inaccuracies contained in some of the submissions.

The Commission decided to hold a hearing when it met on 19 March and considered the Controller of Audit’s report on Best Value and Community Planning at Aberdeen City Council. The report assesses how well the council is performing and the way it is organised and has managed to achieve improvements over time. It also identifies areas of weakness and makes recommendations for improvement.

The decision to hold a hearing was taken in light of the concerns highlighted in the report. The Commission wished to hear firsthand from representatives of Aberdeen City Council to gain a greater understanding of the council’s difficulties in implementing its long-held vision for the area and its plans to improve its financial position.

The Accounts Commission has also considered the Controller of Audit's report on the property sales investigation at Aberdeen City Council, which was also be dealt with at the hearing.

A hearing is a formal process, held in public, and organised and led by the Accounts Commission. Its primary purpose is to assist the Commission to make findings by listening to appropriate evidence.

The Commission was represented by a panel of members comprising John Baillie (Chair of the Accounts Commission), Ann Faulds, Keith Geddes, Iain Robertson and Douglas Sinclair. They are exploring evidence in relation to what has happened at the council, its current context and its plans for the future.

In particular the Commission wished to explore:

  • the pace of improvement in achieving the council’s vision for the area;
  • the capacity of the council to secure change;
  • why staff commitment to the programme of change does not seem to have been achieved;
  • the council’s financial position.

The Commission will now consider the evidence it has gathered. It will then publish findings within the next few weeks and can make recommendations to Aberdeen City Council and to Scottish Government Ministers.

The City Council would like to thank the Commission for coming to Aberdeen to hold the hearing, which has provided the opportunity to explain the efforts which are being made to address the issues facing the council. The City Council is fully committed to working with the Commission and others for the good of the city.



If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 01224 522000.